I wasn't born until a month after winning the cup so I obviously didn't get to truly experience his contribution. But from everything I've seen from that year, he was a hell of a player. Congrats on a great run

Even if he wore a different number, I'd be highly upset if it's retired.

I wonder if Kovy ever wished that he didn't seem to possess elite level talent. Maybe if his skills were a little more dull people would have left him alone. While he was a very good player for us at times, I always thought he was unfairly hounded for not being something he wasn't. It bothered me.

Kovalev was a good playoff performer here. In 1997, he was having his best season as a Ranger when he was slashed by John Maclean and it ended his season. Makes you wonder how far they would have gone if he was healthy for that run.

He was too inconsistent, but my fave Kovalev moment was his rookie season when he scored a hat trick to come back in the 3rd period to beat the Bruins right after Xmas.

And for people hating on 1994, the reason why people keep talking about it was IMO for the quality in play those last two rounds. The skill on display was incredible for all teams.

Even without the Cup, that was a tremendous NHL postseason. MON-BOS went 7 games, Hasek vs Brodeur, San Jose as an 8th seed knocking off Detroit. Vancouver coming back from 3-1 to beat Calgary, Washington finally beating Pittsburgh.

To me, it was the last great postseason before the Dead Puck era in terms of pure skill and even though it was the first season without the old division playoff system, you still ended up with huge rivalries in almost every round.

Kovalev was a good playoff performer here. In 1997, he was having his best season as a Ranger when he was slashed by John Maclean and it ended his season. Makes you wonder how far they would have gone if he was healthy for that run.

Pretty sure it was Niklas Sundstrom whom Maclean slashed and broke his arm.

It's the first cup for the franchise in 54 years, last one we've seen as it stands right now.

It's sorta kinda a big deal.

The Rangers have the least memorable history of any Original Six team (no finals appearances for 22 years in the O6 era, no division titles for 48 years, NY was where players went to disappear). This league would be in a very different place in this country if the Rangers did any amount of anything in the 50s and 60s.

So 1994 is what the team has to build on for modern history. Accept it and move on.

I'm sorry if some of you aren't old enough to remember that Cup and are tired of hearing about it.

For those of us that do remember it, it will never grow old. Particularly someone like me, who barely remembers the Mets in '86 and has never seen the Jets do anything memorable. It's my biggest sports moment. And what of those that had to suffer for years and years before that Cup win?

It's an enormous part of our history. Kind of a big deal.

As for Kovalev himself, he had a fine career. Always felt like a large amount of wasted potential though. He had the natural talent to be one of the best ever.

I talk about it often, but Kovalev made one of the most unreal passes I've ever seen in hockey, anywhere. AHL 1993, Baltimore, the last season the Portland Pirates were the Baltimore Skipjacks. Kovalev was sent down to Binghamton during that horrendous '93 season. The Bing team had the best record in Pro hockey, team was stacked with AHL all stars and a future HOF'er in Zubov.

I was one of a few dozen in the stands, sitting two rows away from Neil Smith and Larry Pleau. Bing goes on the PP and Kovalev gets the puck on the right side boards, before anyone can blink Kovalev freezes the whole arena with a cross ice diagonal pass right on the tape to Craig Duncanson who's sitting on the doorstep and taps in a one timer. Even Duncanson looked up in amazement as to what just happened. I looked up at Smith and Pleau and we all just shook our heads and smiled, I gave Smith the thumbs up and he nodded back. Classic moment.